Ottawa experiments with AI in tax cases

Category : Canada NewsUpdated On : September 14, 2018 04:58 AM

By Indian Times Daily

The Justice Department has quietly launched an artificial intelligence experiment as the Trudeau government prepares to use such sophisticated software to help make decisions in cases involving immigration, pension benefits and taxes.

The 18-month pilot project, which involves the Canada Revenue Agency, was started even though the government has yet to establish clear ethical guidelines on its use of artificial intelligence, or AI.

Definitions of AI vary, but it's generally understood as a computer system designed to quickly learn, reason and make decisions by imitating human cognition.

Since January, 26 tax practitioners at Justice Canada have been using commercial AI software that analyzes thousands of court cases to predict how judges might rule on a given set of facts about a taxpayer's affairs.